


Five times Jaime Kirk realised she liked Lenore McCoy and one time Lenore returned the favour

by orphan_account



Category: Star Trek: Alternate Original Series (Movies)
Genre: 5 Things, Academy Era, Alternate Universe - Gender Changes, F/F
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-08-26
Updated: 2013-08-26
Packaged: 2017-12-24 16:44:09
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,110
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/942224
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/orphan_account/pseuds/orphan_account
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Title says it all.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Five times Jaime Kirk realised she liked Lenore McCoy and one time Lenore returned the favour

**Author's Note:**

> In an unsurprising turn of events, the hostile lesbian finds it far more easy to write lady characters. That might have something to do with the fact that I'm all but a female carbon copy of AOS Jim Kirk.
> 
> There's drunkenness and brief mention of violence and throwing up, but aside from that I don't think there's anything substantial that needs warning.

one.

Jaime's head was thumping, either from the alcohol or the fact she'd had the shit kicked out of her. She contemplated how much better the night would've been if Lenore hadn't been intent on spending the night studying for her Basic Astrophysics paper as she made her way to the doctor's apartment, just south of the Academy's campus ground.

"Dammit, Jaime. Why can't you spend an evening in with a book? Or perhaps _not_ trying to provoke Security track cadets into fighting with you? I'm not always gonna be so willing to fix your ass when it gets handed to you, y'know." Lenore's mouth was set in a firm line and her eyebrows were furrowed as she ran the regenerator over Jaime's cheek.

"But if I stopped picking fights I wouldn't be able to spend so much time in your charming presence, Bones!" Jaime grinned as Lenore rolled her eyes.

"C'mon, get out of that blood-stained shit. You're stayin' here tonight, I don't want you wanderin' around causin' more fights." Jaime noted somewhere in the back of her mind that Lenore's accent always got stronger when she was tired, while she let her shirt get yanked up over her head. Lenore tossed her a clean shirt to sleep in and the moment Jaime's head hit the pillows on Lenore's double bed she passed out.

When Jaime woke the next morning, Lenore was gone. She rubbed her face, staring around the room blearily until she eyed a note on the pillows Lenore had slept on.

' _There's coffee and muffins in the pantry when you wake up. Send me a comm if you feel more like shit than usual. I finish my shift at two, meet me at the medical_ _centre_ _and we'll grab lunch._

_\- Lenore'_

A sudden rush of emotion hit Jaime from out of nowhere. She tried to identify what it was, to no avail - she'd never felt like this with anyone before. As though she cared about someone, and they cared about her back despite having little reason to do so. Jaime held onto the note, smiling as she made her way to the coffee.

 

two.

"Jaime, how much time exactly do you spend in your dorm room?" Lenore didn't look up from her Xenobiology text as she spoke.

"Not... a whole lot. Why?" Jaime's defences started going up, expecting Lenore to start yelling about wasting her credits on a space that she doesn't even live in, or else that she's spending too much time in her dorm and she needs to go away, or that she doesn't want to see her again, oh God she can't start panicking about this now -

"Why keep it then? Half your stuff is here already. You might as well just stay." Lenore's eyes finally left her PADD to connect with Jaime's bright blue ones.

"I - wait, what?" That sounded a lot like she was asking Jaime to move in with her.

"If you want, we'll get the rest of your stuff tomorrow." Lenore held eye contact.

"Are you asking me to move in here?" Lenore sighed, a long, deep sigh that was usually followed with a 'Jaime, you are an idiot' tone of voice, condescending on anyone who isn't her.

"Is there any reason you're being so slow today? Of course that's what I'm asking." The 'Jaime, you are an idiot' tone was in full swing today.

Affection and adoration for this woman clawed at Jaime's chest and it was all she could do to not start suffocating from the sheer weight of it. She smirked at Lenore instead.

"Why, Bones, I didn't know you cared so much! This is going to be so much fun. We can stay up late and eat leftovers at three in the morning and paint our nails together."

"You're going to make me regret this, aren't you?" Lenore groaned out, rubbing her forehead with her spare hand.

"Not at all," Jaime grinned toothily.

 

three.

Jaime thought bringing Lenore with her to this club was a good idea, that maybe they'd be able to get drunk and a little bit too handsy with each other and fall asleep curled around each other when they'd had enough and crashed into Lenore's bed for the night.

She didn't think she'd be so wrong.

Far from spending the night with her best friend slash possible love of her life, she'd so far spent the evening drinking Cardassian Sunrises, watching Lenore dance with the tall, dark and handsome stranger who picked her up at least half an hour ago from where they were seated at the bar.

As often as Jaime told herself she wasn't feeling jealous, she knew deep down that she was lying to herself.

Another quarter of an hour passed, and Jaime finally gave up. She stood, nodding to the bartender as she walked out the doors and trudged her way back.

Not two minutes after she reached their apartment did the door open again, Lenore stumbling inside sans dancing man.

"Oh hey, I was wondering where you'd gotten to. You should've waited! We could've shared the taxi back." Lenore smiled brightly at Jaime in that way that she only ever does when happy and drunk. Jaime shrugged in response.

"Why aren't you with that dancing guy? You two seemed to be rather - uh, attached." Jaime was nearly proud of herself for keeping the extreme jealousy out of her voice.

"Hold on. Are you jealous?" So much for that. Lenore smirked when she received no answer. "Ha! Jaime the perpetual flirt is jealous. You could've gone off with any of the five guys who were eyeing you up, you know."

Right. Of course she'd think Jaime was jealous of _her_ , not the guy who was dancing with her. Jaime stuck her tongue out.

"Boys are yuck. I'd much rather go back with a girl. Maybe I'll check in with Gaila tomorrow..." Jaime's voice tapered off as she took note of something peculiar flash in Lenore's eyes.

"You do what makes you happy, Jaime. I'm off to bed now. I'll see you in the morning." Lenore's door shut abruptly behind her. Jaime was left reeling slightly, not entirely sure what had just happened.

 

four.

Jaime was absolutely delirious.

According to Lenore, it was a particularly nasty Deltan strain of a mutated influenza bug, which could cause varying symptoms from extreme nausea to vivid hallucinations.

Of course Jaime would get the worst hit of it out of everyone infected.

"Bones! Bones, where are you? I need - I need some - " Jaime's voice cut off as she retched into the bucket by her bed for the hundredth time since being hospitalised.

Lenore's hand was suddenly pressed against Jaime's back, rubbing soothing circles in between her shoulder blades. When Jaime resurfaced, she was pressed back against her pillows and slowly fed a cup of water.

"Bones..." Jaime groaned out before sticking her head in the bucket again. She heaved for a minute before

"Bones, you're my favourite." Three Lenore's wavered in her vision, all wearing identical expressions of concern. "I love you _so much_ Bones - all three of you, you're all my favourite, you're all my Bones - "

Lenore's expression changed somewhat, and she gently pressed a hypospray against Jaime's neck, the gentlest she'd ever been treated by the doctor. Before the sedative hit Jaime fully, she felt a pair of lips press delicately to her forehead.

"It'll all be over soon, don't worry. Sleep well, darlin'." Jaime smiled faintly before passing out, knowing when she woke up again her Bones would be there.

 

five.

When Jaime stopped seeing giant metallic birds swooping around the ceiling of the hospital room, she was allowed to return home (and it surprised her how much she considered the apartment to be her home, not because her possessions were there but because a certain grouchy woman lived there) and wallow in self-pity while sneezing constantly and near overflowing with mucus.

Lenore'd been different with Jaime since she was released from hospital and she's not entirely sure why. She only had vague memories of what happened in between seeing the inside of sterilised buckets, which she gets the feeling she should be happy about, but she must've said or done something while under the influence of crazy xeno-disease. She might've spilled the beans on the absolute massive crush she'd been harbouring for months now, but surely Lenore'd know better than to take her word when she's that sick. Surely.

It always stole a lot of Jaime's energy when she got very sick, and running on low energy always made her feel far more emotional than any other time of her life, except on her birthday. But she didn't want to think about her birthday, so she turned towards her PADD and set up a holofilm to waste the time away while Lenore was working or in class.

Jaime decided to watch a sappy rom-com that afternoon. This was a decision she regretted strongly when, halfway through the holovid, she started bawling loudly, fat tears rolling down her face, her skin turning splotchy and red and her nose running even more than it had been otherwise. Ten minutes after she started crying, having yet to show signs of stopping, the apartment door banged open and the smell of burgers wafted through the flat.

"Hey, Jaime! Got you a treat seeing's you're still ill." Lenore's voice sounded wonderful after a day of tinny holovid audio and machinery whirring quietly in the background.

"Okay, I'll just - I'll be out in a minute!" Jaime tried and failed to not sound like she'd been sobbing her eyes out. Lenore's head peeked around the corner of Jaime's door, dark hair swinging, and she desperately tried to hide her face and her sniffling to no avail.

"What's wrong? Are you in pain? Hold on a moment - " Lenore had whipped out her tricorder before Jaime could protest.

"No, no. It's nothing like that. I just get teary when I'm sick and this holovid is infuriating. Obviously she's in love with her best friend and not some jerk guy who's suddenly come into the picture, right? She can't just run off with this guy when her best friend's been there for her the whole time - " Jaime's spiel cut off as more tears start spilling, and she didn't notice how Lenore rolled her eyes while tucking her tricorder away.

Lenore's arms wrap around her from her side, so Jaime tucks her head against Lenore's chest, ear against her heart, listening to it's steady rhythm and feeling herself become more calm.

"Shh, shh, it's okay. I've got you. Even if the character's an idiot who's too damn blind to see what's right under her nose." Lenore stroked Jaime's hair until her hiccoughs had subsided completely. "C'mon, let's eat before it becomes sentient and tries to eat our fridge."

Jaime barked out a laugh at that, wiping her eyes on her sleeve before joining Lenore.

She didn't think about Lenore's comment on the holovid in any greater detail until hours later.

 

one.

"I just don't know what to do about it anymore. I mean, I think I love her, I've never felt like this about _anyone_ before. No offence." Jaime laid down with her head against Gaila's lap, watching the Orion as she tapped away on her PADD with a stylus.

Gaila threw her a quick smile before furrowing her brow against the engineering homework she was looking at on her PADD, chewing on her stylus thoughtfully.

"Gaila! I need help! How do I do emotions with people?" Her voice came out sounding far more whiny than she intended.

"It's nice that you think I know this, but I really have no idea. You could ask one of her colleagues? I'm sure Christine would know. Christine is lovely, you know." Gaila grinned wide as Jaime covered her face with her hands.

"Gaila, really not helping right now. Besides, if I ask Christine I just _know_ she would tell Bones about it and I can't let her know." Gaila tilted her head, staring at her inquisitively.

"Is there a Terran quirk I am missing here? I'm sure you need to tell the person you desire that you desire them in order to progress in your relationship. Not telling her will make it worse, you know, and it will sit in your heart until - "

"Okay, yeah, I get it. Thanks. I just - if she finds out, and she's weirded out by it and she decides to not be _anything_ with me, I don't know if I'll be able to deal with it. I've never been so codependent with anyone, ever."

"Well, you say that you are codependent, so she relies on you just as much as you rely on her. If you're feeling like this for her, what's to say she isn't feeling exactly the same way?" Gaila returned her eyes to whatever equations she was working on.

Jaime considered that for a moment.

"Nah. Bones doesn't go for one-offs. And she probably still thinks I'm _only_ one-offs, even though I haven't actually slept with anyone for months. I swear, I go through a pack of batteries every month since I've stopped. Thank the silicone gods above vibrators are still a thing after four hundred years." Gaila giggled at that.

"I agree with you on that one. But Doctor McCoy's an observant woman; that's part of what makes her such a good doctor. If she isn't looking after you when you're hospitalised, she's performing most of the more complicated surgeries the clinic has to deal with." Jaime stared at Gaila, astounded.

"How the hell do you know all that?" Gaila shrugged, trying to conceal a smile.

"Like I said, Christine is lovely. She knows everything that goes on at the clinic." Gaila reached down to stroke Jaime's cheek. "Just think about it, okay? You never know what might be going on with her." 

* * *

Jaime thought about it, and even started to make plans on how to talk to Lenore. She then proceeded to throw all her plans out the window and decided to get stupidly drunk instead of having to face her problems.

She realised she'd made a miscalculation somewhere along the line while swaying in and out of consciousness in the bathroom of the bar she found herself at. She finally slumped down, cubicle door locked but legs hanging out the gap between the stall and the floor.

When she came around, she was being carried - actually properly _carried_ , bridal-style and everything - by Lenore down the corridor of their apartment building to the front door of their flat. Through true dexterity and probably magic, she managed to key their passcode into their door while still fully supporting Jaime's weight.

Jaime was lowered onto her bed, and while everything felt like she was dreaming she knew that this was real, and this was happening, because she could feel her boots being tugged from her feet, and her pants being pulled off. She felt more than heard Lenore's sigh when she was being folded into her blankets.

"Dammit, Jaime. Please stop doing this stupid shit to yourself. You're too important to me, darlin'." Lenore muttered, before clunking something down by her bed. "I've put a bucket here in case you need to be sick." She paused, and sighed again. "I love you too much for this."

She smoothed Jaime's short blonde hair from her forehead, and Jaime knew she probably should say something, but the only thing she managed to get out was "mmrggh". She made a mental note to talk to Lenore the next day.

Of course, by the time she woke up she'd completely forgotten about her mental note. She stood and stumbled out of her bedroom and towards the kitchenette, not noticing Lenore until she bumped into her.

"Morning, sleeping beauty. I'm surprised to see you alive after the nosedive your drinking took last night." There was a streak of disappointment in Lenore's tone.

"You didn't sound disappointed last night," muttered Jaime, not entirely too sure whether she was talking to herself or Lenore. Lenore arched her eyebrow.

"Do you remember last night at all?"

Jaime thought back.

"There were cats on the ceiling in the bathrooms." Jaime's eyebrows scrunched together in concentration. "And I might've written on the cubicle door in eyeliner that I hate dickheads."

"Well, at least you didn't try swimming in the harbour like that time last year." Lenore sounded nearly relieved.

"You told me you loved me." Jaime said suddenly, the memory of it all but smacking her in the head; Lenore's face froze and it would've been almost comical if not for the reason behind it. "Did you - did you mean that?"

Lenore swallowed audibly, looking down and breaking eye contact for the first time since the conversation started.

"I - yeah, Jaime, I did mean it. I'm sorry, I don't want to - to fuck us up, I promise that it won't change anything, I'll just - I'll deal with it." Lenore sounded so miserable and dejected Jaime couldn't help but reach forward, brushing her jawline with a nail-bitten hand.

"What would you do if I told you I love you too?" Jaime spoke so quiet it was a close thing Lenore could even hear; her head flicked up so fast Jaime worried she'd get whiplash in her neck, but only briefly because Lenore's eyes were suddenly a blazing flash of hazel.

"If you told me you love me too, I would ask you if I could kiss you."

Jaime shivered as she inched further forward, her face so close to Lenore's that she could make out the different shades of hazel, green and brown in her eyes.

"I would say that you could kiss me, and that you probably should kiss me because we've been dancing around each other for two years now and - "

Jaime didn't finish her sentence because Lenore pressed her mouth fully and firmly against Jaime's.

Jaime paused for about half a second, before wrapping her arms around Lenore's neck and melting fully into the kiss. Lenore's arm snaked around her waist, pulling her in closer as their mouths moved together. Jaime opened her mouth, letting her tongue trace along the seam of Lenore's mouth, receiving a whimper in return before Lenore parted her lips.

When they pulled away, seconds or months or eternities later, Lenore pressed her forehead against Jaime's, eyes still closed, breathing deeply.

"Hey, Bones?" Jaime whispered breathlessly.

"Mm?" Lenore hummed out. Jaime traced her lower lip with her thumb.

"I love you too." Jaime grinned as a smile spread across Lenore's face.

"I'm damn glad for that, darlin'."

**Author's Note:**

> The phrase "I hate penises" has been changed to "I hate dickheads" because the former had gross transphobic vibes and transphobia doesn't have a place anywhere, let alone 250 years in the future. Very sorry about that!


End file.
